Mao'er's voice interrupted the Taoist's meditation. As soon as the Taoist lowered his head, he met her sparkling amber eyes.
"There's still more than a month."
"More than a month!"
"What's wrong?"
"Are we leaving Changjing again?"
"Yes."
"You won't be able to see her in the future, right?" The calico cat turned to look outside as he spoke, obviously talking about the Wu heroine who had just left, "Just like Shu."
"It may take many years before we see it."
"right……"
"Is the Sanhua Empress reluctant to part with her?"
"Well……"
Mao'er raised her head and stared at her. Those eyes were really beautiful. There were doubts and thoughts in them, but they still looked pure. After a while, she said: "Empress Sanhua just thinks that the heroine is stupid. Maybe
Without Sanhua Empress, it will take a long time to learn calligraphy well, and Sanhua Empress thinks she is a bit powerful, so she might learn it quickly..."
"Afraid that she will surpass Sanhua Empress without realizing it?"
"..."
Mao'er stared at him blankly, wanting to refute in his heart, but couldn't say anything, so he just stared at him blankly.
"This is called reluctance," the Taoist said to her.
"Is this why you can't bear it?"
"It's a form of reluctance, called caring."
"Well?"
"Three Flowers Empress does not know something, and her reluctance comes in ever-changing forms. Some are easily discovered by us and can be known on the spot, while others are hidden deep and will only be discovered after a long time." The Taoist calmly faced the cat in front of him.
Er said, seeing her thoughtful expression, he immediately said, "But if Sanhua Empress doesn't want to be surpassed by the students of that year when we meet again many years later, she should put more thought into her studies."
"you're right……"
Mao'er was thoughtful and nodded subconsciously, but quickly asked in confusion:
"Is the prince the emperor's son?"
"Yes."
"Why would he hack to death the person who was helping us?"
"Human affairs are complicated and difficult to explain." Song You was silent for a while before saying, "There are rules in the world, and these are the rules in the world now."
"Unreasonable!"
"Miss Sanhua is reasonable." Song You agreed with her, "This is a disease of the times. Small things are useless and big things are troublesome. It will take a long time. Let us go and see other places in the world first."
"Then where will we go in the spring?"
"Go south."
"Southside."
"Going south is Fengzhou, and there is Mount Ye in Fengzhou. I wonder what the emperor and the imperial master are doing there." Song You said to her calmly, "That is another place in the world, and it is also outside the world."
"Beyond the human world..."
The cat repeated his words, lay down motionless, and stared at him.
The Taoist also sat still, as if in samadhi.
There are more and more ghosts in the world.
It seems to indicate that the underworld will be completed.
There must be more than just a national master in Yeshan Ghost City. The emperor’s plot is to be the Lord of the Underworld and the Underworld Ghost Emperor. However, gods are different from humans. This emperor may be a great emperor. He can be an emperor, but he must stay away from the human world and will not abdicate.
The Lord of the Underworld is not very good. Compared with ability, morality is more important to the gods. What's more, Song You is still not sure whether the war in the north that started more than 20 years ago and only subsided in the past two years will end.
Related to this, if the human emperor speeds up the construction of the underworld and ruins tens of millions of lives in the north in order to become the ghost emperor, how can he become the ghost emperor?
Song You still has more doubts.
In short, you have to go to Yeshan first to see it before you know.
There is no need to be too hasty. The fact that this kind of thing can take a few decades as a span is already the result of the artificial promotion of the Imperial Preceptor and the Emperor. Normally, it may take hundreds of years to evolve.
…
Several days passed in succession.
For several days, Wu Nuxia did not come back. I wonder if she had found Doctor Cai. However, the government came to invite Empress Sanhua again. She invited Sanhua Empress to hunt ghosts outside the city and earned another reward.
It's the winter solstice.
The winter solstice is the day with the longest night and shortest day of the year. The yin is strong and the yang is weak. For Changjing people, it is also somewhat different from most other solar terms——
Officials are on holiday during the Winter Solstice.
Officials take a three-day holiday. Affected by this, many workers in Changjing will also take a day off. Even those who work hard to make a living without a holiday often treat themselves to something good to drive away the cold.
The streets were also very lively on this day.
There was a tradition of drinking mutton soup during the winter solstice in Song You's hometown, so he took Sanhua Empress' newly earned money and took her for a walk around the West Market, saying that he would cook her a pot of mutton soup.
Sanhua Empress understands the truth and knows that it is better to use money to buy meat and eat it than to buy other useless things. She goes out to hunt rats and exorcise evil spirits for others to earn money, and then uses it to buy meat and catch rabbits.
, it actually doesn’t make much difference to eat the fish back, and it is more convenient, but why she has to eat mutton makes her a little puzzled.
Mutton is the most expensive.
"Mutton is a winter tonic. It can protect against wind and cold and replenish qi and blood. It is very suitable to eat mutton in winter."
The Taoist said to her as he walked.
Mao'er always had a lot of questions, doubts in her heart, and wanted to ask a lot of why, but she was a cat, and there were so many people here, so she couldn't speak, so she had to hold back and silently follow the Taoist to watch him spend money.
I saw that the Taoist first bought a few kilograms of mutton, bought two crucian carp, cut a small square of tofu, searched most of the Western Market, bought a handful of pea tips, and bought a lot of spices for the next time he left Beijing.
Make preparations. It is not that easy to buy all these spices and ensure the quality after leaving the capital. You must at least prepare enough to go to Yangdu.
I've bought all the spices and smelled it. I feel like it would be a waste if I didn't buy a pound of beef and half a chicken.
The Taoist turned back to discuss with Mao'er.
Mao'er didn't express his opinion, but he thought he was willing to do so.
The Taoist spent a lot of money, so he took his things and the cat and walked slowly through Changjing. When he got home, he started to get busy.
Sanhua Empress transformed into a human form and sat in front of the stove to light the fire. While lighting the fire, she raised her head and stared at his movements. I don't know whether it was pure confusion or a subtle expression that he had spent more money:
"Why do you need to buy two fish to make mutton soup?"
"Ms. Sanhua doesn't know something. In my hometown, crucian carp is always added to mutton soup." Song You smiled and continued to talk to her even though he was busy, "Ms. Sanhua, does she know how to write fresh characters?"
"Know."
"How to write it?"
"Write this way!"
The little girl took out the firewood she had chosen to help herself burn other firewood from the stove, and made a few gestures in the air.
"Fish and mutton are delicacies, so in my hometown, crucian carp is always added to mutton soup. The crucian carp is fried and boiled, and then cooked with mutton. The soup is as white as milk and very delicious." Song You was very patient.
"Then it's not called mutton soup, it's called fish and mutton soup."
"Miss Sanhua is smart."
"You can also call it fresh meat soup!"
"Sanhua Empress draws inferences from one example."
"Can I add a mouse?"
"..."
"Fish is delicious, so are rats. It must be better."
"..."
"Why don't you speak?"
"Sanhua Empress has an innovative spirit."
"Innovative spirit?"
"Praise."
"Yes!"
The little girl nodded seriously and continued to put firewood.
Take a breath, and the fire in the stove will grow louder and louder.
After lighting the fire, she raised her head and watched the Taoist being busy.
The outside is cold and there is a fire in the stove, which makes the small space in front of the stove extremely warm. In addition, this small space is too small, so it seems even warmer. Empress Sanhua likes this kind of environment. In addition, the Taoist priests in front are busy.
, making various noises while talking to her, and while the fireworks were rising, it was easy to give her a feeling of peace of mind.
It would be nice if the fire could keep burning.
Empress Sanhua couldn't help but think.
However, the Taoist in front quickly and quickly stewed the beef and chicken, and began to stew the mutton soup.
The Taoist wiped his hands and felt a little free.
When he lowered his head again, the little girl looked up and stared at him, her eyes seemed to be able to speak, but she didn't know what she was talking about.
"What do you think, Sanhua Empress?"
"I want the Taoist priest to cook it slower."
"Can."
"Why don't you ask why?"
"Because I was the same age as Empress Sanhua, and I also liked to make fires when I was a child." The Taoist smiled and looked at her, "When I was a child, I would ask my master every day if he could take a bath, because if she wanted to take a bath, she would need a big pot.
The hot water can keep the fire going for a long time, but it’s a pity that she is a lazy person.”
After hearing this, Sanhua Empress only felt that nothing could be hidden from him.
"You seem to be very smart!"
"Only slightly inferior to Sanhua Empress."
"But……"
Sanhua Empress blinked her eyes a few times, and a new doubt came to her: "We are already full from eating fish and mutton soup, why do we need to buy a chicken?"
"It won't go bad in the winter, so I can eat a few more good meals."
"But you are going to visit the fox in a few days, ask her something, and buy a chicken, so we will buy two chickens in just a few days."
After buying two chickens in just a few days, Empress Sanhua felt that this was not how she lived her life.
"What you said makes sense..."
The Taoist lowered his head and stared at the little girl.
The little girl also stared at him.
The two seemed to have an exchange of opinions.
Not long after, the mutton soup was cooked. The Taoist added salt, tasted it, put it in a casserole, and then took out the braised chicken and braised beef from another pot, and found out where he had come from on the first day back to Beijing.
Yun Chunlou put the basket that was given to him when he packed the food, and two figures, one large and one small, one holding a casserole and the other carrying a basket, went out and quickly headed towards Hexian Tower.
It's cold today, and there's even a hint of snow falling in the sky, but there are still many pedestrians on the street. The Taoist priest and the girl walked by, and I don't know how many people were attracted by the passing fragrance.
The Taoist walked very fast, and the little girl also moved her legs very fast.
There are more people in Hexian Tower.
Because the officials of Dayan had a holiday during the winter solstice, the most powerful and elegant people in the city were all free today, so they naturally wanted to visit Miss Wanjiang, who was seriously ill.
When Song You arrived outside the door, he saw how many dignitaries had gathered inside. At this time, they had all changed out of their official uniforms. They had just cleaned themselves up and put on clothes commonly worn by literati, so as not to look tacky.
The gifts are either rare medicinal materials, expensive pills, or exotic fruits and vegetables shipped from far away places. I have put a lot of thought into them.
There was a lot of worry and anxiety on everyone's faces.
"I heard that Miss Wanjiang is in poor health again..."
"Isn't that right? The last time I heard Miss Wanjiang playing the harp, I was lucky enough to listen to half of the song downstairs when winter first came. The lingering sound lingered in my ears. I didn't know the taste of meat in January, and I only felt that the fairy music was nothing more than that. When I went back, I was still thinking about it.
A colleague is bragging about it, well, I just hope that song doesn’t become a perfect tune.”
"I haven't heard Miss Wan Jiang's piano for a long time. I really miss the days of drinking and listening to the piano. At that time, I just thought it was normal. But now that I think about it, it is clearly a palace on earth."
"Is Miss Wanjiang still not welcoming guests?"
"I met him a few days ago. His face was pale and he was coughing badly. He had to be helped by the maid when he walked."
"I am jealous of talented people..."
"I asked my classmates in the army from the north to send some good white mushrooms. I just hope that the servants at Hexian Tower can accept them on behalf of Miss Wanjiang."
"I also asked someone from Fengzhou to buy some pomegranates and put a lot of effort into it. I heard that Miss Wanjiang doesn't eat meat and eats only fruits and vegetables all her life. Alas, I only hope she can recover soon. Without the sound of her piano,
The sky in Changjing is a bit darker."
As soon as the Taoist priest and the girl reached the door, they couldn't help but stop and listen to these sounds.
The girl tilted her head, her face full of confusion.
If she hadn't been holding the casserole and couldn't tell her hands apart, she would have started scratching her head by now.